This was our 14th cruise and our 4th cruise with Carnival returning after 8
years to see if was still a Fun Ship. It didn’t meet expectations in this
regard. Though John, the Cruise Director, brought tears to my eyes through his
humor and the antics of the passengers he brought on stage, it was soon realized
that this was all a preplanned setup. That Willie Banger and Anneta Banger were
not their real names and that it was not a coincidence that the first two prize
winners did not respond when their names were called.

Arriving on time in Rome, we spent an hour watching the baggage handlers throw
the Carnival passenger’s bags in the back of the transfer trucks before our
shuttle was scheduled to leave for the port. On arrival to the ship we found
that we would not have access to our cabin for 2.5 hours.

After arrival in our cabin our 4 bags arrived 1 bag each hour with the usual
damage. We didn’t see our cabin steward for hours. We had become accustomed to
meeting our cabin steward early on to obtain their names and discuss features of
the cabin and individual requests that we might have. One request was made 3
times without satisfaction. It appeared that the cabin duties were handled by
more than the cabin steward, his duties being the bed and towel animals.

Our cabin was midship on the main deck. During our first few nights we realized
that being under the galley resulted in noises from the night crew during the
early AM hours.

Later in the cruise the window area required repair
and the shower height adjustment failed. These were taken care of immediately by
Julia, our deck maintenance supervisor.

The ship takes some time to navigate. You can not pass through the length of the
ship on decks 3 and 4 which contain the dining rooms and other services such as
purser and tour desk. Some areas can be entirely missed. Fortunately we were
within steps of the stairway to our dining room and the elevator that would take
us to the Lido deck.

The dinner offerings were better than expectations with a good variety of menu
items that changed each evening and alternate choices that remained the same.
The bread was the best of all, soft and tasteful. Table service attentiveness
was superior.

Emile’s on the Lido deck offered 4 buffet lines, an oriental and deli window.
Farther aft was a grill with burgers and a pizza counter. On the deck above was
located the Fish and Chips service. Also soft serve ice cream was provided. The
disappointment was that at 6 PM all food service with the exception of the deli
and pizza ceased operation. Another failure was that on our last day to leave
the ship at 5:45 AM the Lido deck buffet service did not begin until 5:30 AM.
Only breakfast cereals, juice and coffee were available.

The entertainment was uneven. The production shows were performed well but the
sound was at a high level, the music overwhelming the singers voices. Their were
two male singers that performed once and were never seen again. One had just
joined the ship that day in Venice. Word was that the production dancers and
singers had finalized their contracts and left the ship.

The entertainment tailed off as the cruise ended. The last 4 nights contained
the passenger talent show, a passenger performed legends show (Elvis, Madonna,
etc.), a has been violinist with a bad attitude where the audience left before
the show ended and no final night entertainment. John, the Cruise Director was
never seen again, only his voice over the PA system.

As to John he could be hilarious but failed to pass on information to assist
passengers such as that the public transportation system would not run on the
Sunday we would be in Messina, Sicily. He will be the Cruise Director on the new
Carnival Freedom in 2007.

It was if the cruise was ending and though they said that the ship was our home
for the 12 day cruise the experience did not last the full 12 days. The
entertainment dissolved and the dining experience was shut down. The crew was
making ready for the next group of passengers before we left the ship, shining
the brass and chrome and being sure that we would be off the ship by 8:30 AM.